A number of anti-protocol rallies took place in Belfast on Friday night.
Addressing a rally against the protocol in Northern Belfast, TUV leader Jim Alistair warned that “the point at which Westminster should have taken action against the Protocol on Northern Ireland” is long gone.
Referring to allegations in a Financial Times report that ministers were drafting legislation that gave them broad powers to break the Northern Ireland Protocol in the withdrawal agreement, he said: “It will take more than history to solve the problem of protocol.
Read more: Doug Beatty must attend rallies against the protocol, says the UUP man
“For months, the government had speculated that they would be moving along the border that shamefully divides the United Kingdom, but there was no delivery.
“Now, on the eve of the election, there is another suggestion that something can be done.
“Gone are the days when action had to be taken to restore Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom.
“Article 6 of the Acts of the Union, which guarantees freedom of trade within and between the constituent parts of the United Kingdom, must be fully restored and not subject to the Protocol.
“The test for any transaction will be whether Northern Ireland is still subject to a foreign single market for goods, a foreign customs code, a foreign VAT regime, all controlled by foreign law and a foreign court.”
Read more related articles Read more related articles
“Such oppressive obedience is not something anyone interested in basic democratic accountability could think of.
“Here we are – on the verge of elections – after all, something in the area of 60% of the laws regulating our economy are not made by the MLA or MPs, but by the EU, a body in which we have no contribution.
“Such a parody has never been and can never be acceptable. No trade unionist had to play with this state of affairs – as shamefully happened with the disastrous Poots publications.
“It is vital that on election day, trade unionists come into force and vote for pro-union, anti-protocol candidates.
People listen to speakers during a parade and rally against the protocol against Northern Ireland in Broomfield Road, East Belfast. (Image: Liam McBurney / PA Wire)
Meanwhile, another anti-protocol rally took place in eastern Belfast.
A number of speakers addressed the rally, including Mervin Gibson of the Order of the Orange.
He said: “We stand on this platform as trade unionists who oppose the protocol. We may differ on other points, we may have different accents and priorities, but we are standing here tonight, united against the protocol.
“I know a lot of you there – and you have different loyalties, you belong to different gangs, you support different football teams, as far as I know, there may even be some blue men here tonight.
“This generation is facing a new threat – protocol, a threat that came from within, a threat that was agreed and agreed upon by Boris (Johnson).”
The Belfast rallies are the latest in a series in Northern Ireland, outlining union and loyalist opposition to the post-Brexit protocol, which provides for additional inspections of goods arriving in Northern Ireland from Britain.
(left to right) Mervin Gibson of the Order of the Orange, Moore Holmes, John Ross of TUV, Joan Bunting of the DUP and Carl Bennett of the PUP during a parade and rally against Northern Ireland Protocol at Broomfield Road, East Belfast. Photo date: Friday, April 22, 2022 PA Photo. See the history of PA POLICY Rally for Brexit. Photo should read: Liam McBurney / PA Wire (Image: Liam McBurney / PA Wire)
It is strongly opposed by the Unionists as a border in the Irish Sea.
Several hundred people attended the Belfast protests, which included a number of groups.
East Belfast candidate Joan Bunting said “our culture and identity have been under attack for decades.”
“We will not be reduced and we refuse to be demonized,” she told an audience in East Belfast.
“We are telling the Irish government that we will work with you as neighbors, but look at your own work. Watch your own country and keep your nose away from the home affairs, trade and constitutional status of this UK.
“We are telling the EU that we are not your currency, we are not your lever, we will not be your hostage and we are not a divorce agreement.
Loyalist activist Moore Holmes also addressed the rally.
He said: “What we have witnessed tonight is a fantastic demonstration of unity and solidarity across the trade union and loyalist community against the protocol.
“This cannot end here. The same unity of purpose that we must demonstrate in the voting booths on May 5 and must be shown after the election.”
Read more: Jim Alistair: People who want TUV dead in the election will be disappointed
Read more: “Unionists must unite for protocol,” Donaldson says at rally
For the latest political news right in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter here.
Add Comment